In conversation with Steve Brine

So this morning the writer of this blog entry met with a campaigner from Weeke (more info) to talk with Steve Brine (MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford) about the loss of green space in general and also about the housing developments in Weeke and Abbotts Barton in particular. Shame I forgot to bring my camera.

A poem about the park

A beautiful contribution from one of our neighbours:

I wake in the morning to a beautiful sound
For a chorus of birdsong is bringing me round
Too numerous to mention, they twitter with glee
This wonder of nature, so blissful and free

There are Foxes and Deer, and Ducks by the score
Who daringly venture right up to your door
Squirrels, Woodpeckers, even Jays can be seen
An Egret, a Heron and Swans on the stream

An abundance of Wildlife, such a tranquil scene
Majestic Chestnut trees, a beautiful Green
Children playing and having such fun
A big open space in which they can run

I may never be rich, but who can compare
All this beauty layed before me here
As each day unfolds and I look to above
I whisper a prayer for this place I so love


I hope many can share my feelings and enjoy these thoughts to keep it as a park. After all its the only Community facility we have.

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Upcoming Council meetings

Any member of the Public can attend Council Meetings. You are entitled to ask questions; for more information on Public Participation please click here.

All Winchester City Council meetings are listed on the Winchester City Council website.

Upcoming meetings that might include relevant items for the planned housing development in Abbotts Barton:

26/06/2013 - 10.00AM - Cabinet
Click on the date to see location plus meeting agenda and reports.

15/07/2013 - 10.00AM - Cabinet (Housing Delivery) Committee
Agenda and reports to be available from 5 July.

The more people attend these meetings the better - we need to show that we are interested in what is happening in our estate!

(This information and more is also available on the Action! tab.)

Are 'consultations' what the term promises?

Following the local news, it seems Winchester City Council and Winchester residents are quite disconnected; here are just a few example articles from Hampshire Chronicle from the last months (for more see the Media tab):

A plea on behalf of Weeke residents

As you might have heard Winchester City Council (WCC) is not only trying to build on parkland in Abbotts Barton, there are also other green areas in Winchester earmarked for new housing (see our Media tab for related articles). One of them is at Westman Road, Weeke.

Save The Parks in Abbotts Barton on Radio Solent this morning

Our Save The Parks campaign had a few minutes of air time on Radio Solent this morning at roughly 7:15am. The show is available to listen to on the BBC Radio website for seven days:

BBC Radio Solent - Julian Clegg 18/06/2013

We are on at about 40 minutes in and are also mentioned in the News 1 hour in afterwards.

Just a few points regarding what Andrew Palmer from Housing Delivery brings up:

22 May Housing Delivery meeting minutes appeared at last

The meeting minutes from the last Housing Delivery meeting have finally shown up on the meeting page.

As said before, none of the questions and concerns from Abbotts Barton representatives had been answered on the day and we will have to wait for the committee to see another report before we will know whether our parks will be appropriated:

"That a report be brought back to the Committee at a later date to determine, in the light of any representations received and detailed consideration of the financial implications,, whether or not these sites should be appropriated for planning purposes pursuant to Section 122(2) of the Local Government Act 1972."

You can find the meeting minutes on the Committee's meeting page from 22 May.

Video from March

The Abbotts Barton housing development video that was produced in March by a young journalist has been found alive and well on her own YouTube profile:

CORRECTED window graphic

A while ago we published an image to print out and stick in your window to show your support to the Save The Parks campaign. Rather embarrassingly there was a wrong web address on it. This has been corrected and the updated file can now be downloaded via the Ressources tab. Thank you to everybody who is showing their support!

What's happening?

We are still waiting for the meeting minutes from the last Housing Delivery meeting in which it was recommended to go ahead with the appropriation process. At the meeting all of the questions relating to the development in Abbotts Barton asked by members of the public and the St. Bartholomew Ward Councillor Dominic Hiscock were heard but not answered. On the day there was also no information offered about the outstanding questions in regards to the "Cadet site" and the Garage sites.

As per the meeting, the order of sites to be built on is this for now:

1) Hillier Way site
2) Dyson Drive site and The Park (Charles Close side)
3) Garage sites

This order is simply based on how easy it is for the council to build on the sites.

Here is some additional information from today's Councillor's Surgery with Jim Maynard and Dominic Hiscock:

Winchester City Council is commissioning architects to make proper plans for the new houses they want to build in Abbotts Barton. (This is needed before the appropriation can take place and also for planning permission to be given.)

A report has been produced why the Cadet site is not going to be included in the list of sites for building. It can be found with other information on the council's web page for New Council Housing - Abbotts Barton, here is the direct link: Planning Report on the Scrubland at Hillier Way, May 2013.

There is no report about the usage of the garages yet.

Finally, the Hampshire Chronicle article

It took a while but here is the online Hampshire Chronicle version of the press photo shoot, slightly updated with the news about Mr Tait and with a different photo:

Hundreds protest against plans to build homes on Winchester parkland

Great events happen when there is a park to use!

See some photos of the Abbotts Barton Big Lunch event over at the Community Group blog:  Abbotts Barton Community Group: A park used well!